


feeding fears

by martainez



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Fluff, Horror, Hotels, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 06:34:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17482991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/martainez/pseuds/martainez
Summary: In a hotel somewhere in America, Dan decides to watch a horror movie





	feeding fears

**Author's Note:**

> Found this fic abandoned in my folder, wrote it back in July. I must have abandoned it for a reason, but I guess you can read it if you want.

It's irrational, really, how scared a few flashing images on a screen can make us. Should it really be considered normal to be scared of a long-haired girl in a white nightgown? Can you really rationalize a fear of clowns when you happily would get in a car and drive along the highway, even though you know that's where people actually die? Are we stupid even to be scared of the dark when statistics show that most accidents and non-age related deaths happen in the light of the day? 

Though, can we really help it? It doesn't help that we know that we are stupid and irrational, we can't stop our heart from racing when the light goes off. Or when we see an intimidating clown at a funfair. Or when we go past a well, because maybe there's a girl down there, waiting to crawl up and throw us into the shadows. Yes, we know that realistically nothing will happen. But what we 'know' doesn't help when we are scared of what we don't 'know'. 

The unknown; the one fear all humans share. Admit it or deny it, the truth never lies.  


 

* * *  


 

Netflix only has enough happy-go-lucky titles to last a mouth, nostalgia trips are only fun when you're with others, and children's movies... well, a twenty-seven-year-old isn't really in the right target group for those. Therefore, the only option left was the horror movie section. A section which Dan was not too familiar with - but desperate times called for desperate measures. 

He was sat on the edge of the hotel bed, scrolling through the options on the tv. A lot of unknown titles rolled by; originals made by wannabes that tried too hard to climb the hall of fame but ended up with a billion dollars in debt and a few scandals instead. 

'Warm Bodies', a story about the love between a zombie and a human. Dan could easily figure out the end of that one. Cliché. Next.

'Would you rather _'_ , that sounded like a high school party gone wrong. _(Shouldn’t there be a question mark on the end of the title?_ _Is he really the right person to criticize someone’s language?)_ Next.

'Creep', or wait, there's a 'Creep 2', Nah, there’s no time for a sequel. Next.

'Blair Wi...' _wait, no. Absolutely not_. Next!

He was in the middle of scrolling when a text message suddenly interrupted. 

**Phil Lester,** _23:43_

g'night

sleep tight

don't let the bed bugs bite 

Dan typed a quick 'goodnight' followed by a 'watch out tonight', because why the hell not. If he was going to torture himself by watching a horror movie then he should be allowed to freak his best friend out a little. 

Phil didn't answer, the old man had surely already fallen asleep. That wouldn't surprise anyone, he’s had a tough time falling asleep on the tour bus. The constant movement of the bus hasn't had a positive effect on him, that's for sure. He must have fallen asleep as soon as he hit send. Poor thing, he deserves a good night sleep. (That doesn't mean Dan won't tease him about it tomorrow, though). 

Dan returned to the scrolling, read a few uninteresting titles before stopping at one that caught his attention: 'Rings', a modern interpretation of the classic movie 'the ring'; a movie which gave him nightmares for weeks when he was younger. _Perfect, that one will do._

The opening credits rolled as he made himself comfortable in the bed. He pulled the duvet over his legs and rested his back against the headboard. The only snack left in the room was a bag of dried mango - which Phil, fortunately, had rejected earlier that day - but that would have to do. 

Fully immersed by the darkness of the room, he watched the first half of the movie without any major problems. Sure, he was jump-scared a handful of times, but nothing that got his heart racing abnormally fast.   
  
That was, of course, until one particular scene. The dark-haired girl, Samara, decided to make her first real cameo. She entered the scene by not only jumping the viewer but also making such a horrific sound that all hairs on Dan’s arm raised in chills. The fast change of scenery - from when the characters had been standing in a pretty, retro, 60s-fashion house, to when Samara suddenly filled the screen - made Dan jump. Not only figuratively but literally.

He flinched so hard he managed to hit his elbow in the headboard, and with one hand on his aching elbow, he used the other to pat the duvet to try and find the tv-remote.   
  
”M’not doing this to myself,” he said as he managed to find what he was looking for, and with one swift move, he turned the tv completely off. _Oh, lovely_. The room was not pitch black, save from the small red light on the media player. 

He swallowed, tried to get rid of the feeling of fear slowly creeping its way up his back. The rational part of him knew that there was nothing to be afraid of. A movie can’t hurt you. He knew that. Obviously. But, there was also a small part of him that didn’t quite know. Because what if there was something in the dark, just waiting for him to close his eyes. Nothing supernatural - he didn’t believe in such things (at least that’s what he likes to keep telling himself) - but, who was to say that there’s no murdered or invader outside his hotel door? Who was to say the hotel staff was friendly and not after him? _Oh god, they even had a key to his room_.

”If you’re going to kill me, just be aware that there will be a few hundred thousand people that will be very angry,” he said out loud, partly joking, partly… not so much joking. 

He kept his eyes locked on the door, waiting for it to open and expose his worst nightmare. _Whatever that would be_. He wasn’t eager to find out.   
  
He sat still for at least three minutes before he mentally slapped himself. How stupid do you have to be to sit and wait for a threat that doesn’t even _exist_? He had to get his shit together somehow, and realistically (because realistic is exactly what he was right then) was there only one solution to his problem. The same solution there’s to any problem Dan has ever had. Phil. Of course.   
  
In a moment of sudden courage, he sprinted off the bed and to the nearest light switch. The room immediately turned from pitch black to eye-irritatingly light. He had to blink a few times to adjust his eyes before he started to grab everything he needed for the night and threw it all into a backpack. He grabbed his toothbrush, a fresh pair of boxers, his charger, and what was left of the dried mangos (he could give that to Phil as a sorry-I-woke-you-but-I-am-scared peace offering), and then grabbed his phone off the bed. That would have to do.

He slowly opened the door, peeking out through the door spring to spot any uninvited guests. The corridor was empty. 

He left his room, bag slung over his shoulder, locked the door, and walked with determined footsteps towards the room where he knew Phil slept. 

He had to knock ten times before a drowsy-looking Phil opened the door, the look on his face spoke a thousand words, he knew exactly what had happened. And when Dan stormed into the room and threw himself on the bed, saying, ”I’m sleeping here,” Phil didn’t even argue. 

**Author's Note:**

> and with this fic, I say goodbye to the ii-era. 
> 
>  
> 
> (if you have any prompts you'd like to read, please comment - I'm on such a dry spell at the moment... thanks x)


End file.
